Detroit Mass Mob's next event at historic St. Joseph near Eastern Market

Jun. 8, 2014

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Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Welcome to St. Joseph Catholic Church in Detroit. / Patricia Montemurri/Detroit Free Press

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The Detroit Mass Mob — the fledgling movement to encourage suburban Catholics to converge on a historic Detroit church once a month — now has a website and a revised schedule of church visits.

The next Detroit Mass Mob will be at 11:30 a.m. June 29 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1828 Jay St., near Eastern Market. The mass time has changed since an earlier announcement, and the service will be in English instead of Latin.

The schedule previously released by the group has been revamped because of unknown conflicts, said Thom Mann, a Birmingham financial planner and group spokesman.

After the Free Press wrote about the Detroit Mass Mob, more than 300 people showed up at a May 4 mass and filled every seat at St. Charles Borromeo church on Detroit’s eastside.

“They told me they initially came to see the building,” said parish council president Rhonda Gilbert. “Then they said the building is beautiful, but the spirit inside far outshines that.”

Because of the Mass Mob, Gilbert said the parish’s typical Sunday collection increased three times.

St. Joseph Church, a 141-year-old landmark just off Gratiot headed out of downtown, is on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as being of special significance because of its stained glass windows, wood carvings and architecture.

The parish was founded by German Catholic immigrants in 1855 and the current church was built in 1873.